Father and Son
by Alhendra
Summary: Ron and Arthur have a man to man talk about certain private issues...Slash (not between Arthur and Ron!!)


Father and Son  
  
A/n's: Yes, I happen to be in an A/L mood, and since I also happen to adore the D/R pairing.well.instant Chemistry :D  
  
Disclaimer: Nothing in Harry Potter is mine, absolutely NOTHING! *sob*  
  
***  
  
Arthur waited for Ron to come in. In his pocket he fingered a brooch - in the shape of a silver moon and a green snake wound round it - rather nervously. He had been waiting for this opportunity for three days now. Finally the house was empty except for him, Ron and Ginny, who was still asleep upstairs.  
  
Ron entered the drawing room, yawning. He then proceeded to the kitchen, poured himself a cup of warm tea and grabbed a sandwich. When he finished he put the cup with the other dirty ones, and exited the kitchen, intending to go get dressed for meeting Harry and Hermione at Diagon Alley.  
  
"Ron, come sit here a bit," his father told him. Ron looked at his father in surprise. He wasn't that close to his father, and he didn't know what he wanted to talk to him about.  
  
"Dad, I gotta get ready to meet Harry and Hermione."  
  
"I know, but this is important and it won't take long." Ron shrugged and went and sat down opposite Arthur.  
  
"When I was young," Arthur started, "I used to sleep in your room..."  
  
"Dad!" Ron rolled his eyes. "I've no time for stories!"  
  
".and I had a hidey hole in which I kept some private objects," his father continued as if he hadn't heard the interruption. "A few days ago I remembered that I had left something there and I went to see if it was still there. It hadn't occurred to me that you had found it and was using it to store some objects, otherwise I wouldn't have gone nosing around. As it turned out.I found this." He took out the brooch from his pocket and held it out.  
  
Arthur saw dismay flash over his son's face before he schooled it to relative calm.  
  
"Pretty isn't it?" Ron said in a voice straining to sound normal. "I found it lying around and I decided to keep it. It probably costs a lot of money."  
  
"Don't lie to me, son. If I may hazard a guess, I'd say that you are having a little 'affair', shall we call it, with Draco Malfoy, and that he gave you this himself. Am I correct?"  
  
Ron opened his mouth to deny everything, but nothing came out. Arthur sighed. "I thought so." He dropped the silver and green brooch in Ron's lap.  
  
"How did you guess?" Ron's hand curled around the brooch protectively.  
  
"I know a little about Malfoy traditions, and so I know that every Malfoy gives a brooch like that to a person he really cares for."  
  
"D-does mum know? And the others?"  
  
Arthur shook his head. "I didn't tell anyone. This is your secret, not mine, not anyone else's to tell."  
  
"So why did you tell me this?" Ron gripped the brooch hard. "Are you going to tell me to break it up with him? Because I won't! Dad, I really like him. He's not really mean underneath.he can be a really nice person."  
  
Arthur smiled. "I know. I'm not going to tell you to break it off with him - quite the opposite in fact."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Arthur leaned forward. "Let me tell you a story. Once there were two boys. One was called - Andra, and the other was called Morin. They were from families which hated each other, and for a while, they did too. But then they fell in love, and for three years they met in secret."  
  
Ron listened intently. He had no idea where this was leading, but he was curious about what his father had to say.  
  
"After three years, Andra and Morin decided that they couldn't face their families if they told them the truth. So they split up, each thinking that time would let them forget each other. After some time, both of them found a nice girl to marry and settled down with her.  
  
"Andra loved his new wife, and all his kids, but he could never forget Morin. And even though he was happy, he always wondered what it would have been like if he had instead remained with Morin." Arthur leaned back. "And, that, Ron is what I want to tell you. Better to know than to spend the rest of your life wondering and regretting. If you really love Draco, then I will accept it. And so will your mother - after some time that is." A faint smile hovered around his lips. "And so will, I think, Lucius accept it."  
  
Ron snorted. "You don't know his father."  
  
"Oh I do," Arthur replied placidly. "I know better than you think. I was at school with him. In any case, don't make the mistake of ruining everything because of family enmity."  
  
"Thanks dad," Ron's face broke out into a relieved smile. "I was terrified of what you would say."  
  
"I know, son, I know," Arthur smiled as well. "Now it's time you go get ready or you're gonna be severely late."  
  
Ron looked at the time, yelped and rushed off, leaving Arthur alone.  
  
Arthur thought back to his schooldays. He hadn't thought of that school play in ages. He remembered being chosen to play the hero, Andra, and that Lucius had been the evil wizard, Morin. The play had centred around Andra and Morin competing for the hand of a beautiful girl who was played by one of the Hufflepuffs, a girl with a beautiful voice but few brains.  
  
He remembered how Lucius had gotten into the habit of calling him Andra, and how that nickname had then stuck. And, he remembered promises of love that would never be forgotten.  
  
He dug his hand inside his shirt pocket, and drew out something which carried so many memories that every time he took it out he felt overwhelming waves of nostalgia. He remembered stolen kisses behind trees, meetings when no one was looking, whispered comments on passing by each other in the halls.  
  
He smiled at the brooch in his hand.  
  
A promise that would never be broken.  
  
A green snake wound round a silver moon. 


End file.
